SOUTHERN BLOOD serves as a remarkable final testament from an artist whose contributions have truly shaped rock & roll throughout the past four decades. This is Allman’s first all-new recording since 2011’s GRAMMY® Award-nominated solo landmark, LOW COUNTRY BLUES. Produced by Don Was and recorded in Muscle Shoals where Duane Allman and the earliest seeds of the Allman Brothers Band were sown, Southern Blood is among the most uniquely personal of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s career.Read More

“My Only True Friend,” from Southern Blood, Gregg Allman’s final album, is a cipher, much like the man himself — private, reserved, and complex. Though twin, ringing, blues-drenched guitars introduce it, the song just as quickly morphs into a ballad: “You and I both know, this river will surely flow to an end/Keep me in your heart…I hope you’re haunted by the music of my soul…But you and I both know, the road is my only true friend….” The blues guitars cascade in again, adding resonance. This is the only track here that Allman co-wrote, but it’s fine enough to join the shortlist of his classics — “Midnight Rider,” “Melissa,” “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More,” etc.Read More

Despite being the premiere of heavy metal, Jeff Beck’s Truth has never quite carried its reputation the way the early albums by Led Zeppelin did, or even Cream’s two most popular LPs, mostly as a result of the erratic nature of the guitarist’s subsequent work. Time has muted some of its daring, radical nature, elements of which were appropriated by practically every metal band (and most arena rock bands) that followed.Read More

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. The band’s heavy, guitar-driven sound, rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums, has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors of heavy metal, though their unique style drew from a wide variety of influences, including folk music.Read More

Limited edition six disc box set containing five CDs plus Blu-ray. Give Me Strength: The 1974/1975 Recordings is beautifully housed in a 60-page book and captures a full year’s worth of recordings, from April 1974 to June 1975. Featured are 88 remastered, remixed, rare unreleased and live recordings, including session outtakes, from his landmark studio albums 461 Ocean Boulevard and There’s One in Every Crowd, and his legendary live album E.C. Was Here. Also included is a new 5.1 Surround Sound mix of 461 Ocean Boulevard and original quadrophonic mixes of two milestone releases.Read More

By the time Eric Clapton launched his solo career with the release of his self-titled debut album in mid-1970, he was long established as one of the world’s major rock stars due to his group affiliations — the Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Cream, and Blind Faith — which had demonstrated his claim to being the best rock guitarist of his generation.Read More

As the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) had done a year earlier, Super Session (1968) initially ushered in several new phases in rock & roll’s concurrent transformation. In the space of months, the soundscape of rock shifted radically from short, danceable pop songs to comparatively longer works with more attention to technical and musical subtleties. Enter the unlikely all-star triumvirate of Al Kooper (piano/organ/ondioline/vocals/guitars), Mike Bloomfield (guitar), and Stephen Stills (guitar) — all of whom were concurrentlyRead More

To tie in with the bands 50th anniversary in 2017, Ten Years After have recorded a new studio album; A Sting In The Tale and are touring throughout the year to promote this new release and to celebrate their anniversary.Read More